Do Your Parents Like You Better Than Your Siblings?

If you have a brother who’s ever accused your parents of favoring you over him, a new study says he may actually be right. . . Sort of.

Research suggests that parents spend a lot more money on daughters than they do on their sons, especially in terms of clothing. In a year, most parents shell out about $200 more on your stuff than on your brother’s (or brothers’, as the case may be). But does it really mean they’re favoring you? We don’t think so.

First of all, anyone with parents knows that in general, they complain a lot whenever they have to spend any money. We don’t think this is a move they’re making deliberately!

Secondly, not that you aren’t awesome–because, well, you are. You’re really awesome. But in this particular case, your insane levels of awesomeness likely don’t play a huge part in how much your folks are spending. We think a lot of it has to do with the fact that girls generally require a few more things–for example, if you’re short and little in the middle but have much back, you may need significant alterations to your pants–or to buy a lot of belts. (Believe me, I know. I know.) We also have a lot more accessories than guys do, and while those may not be expensive individually depending on where you shop, they add up: Think about all those trips to Claire’s when you’re like, “Oh, these earrings are buy one get one half off!” and wind up blowing $50. Even our underwear is expensive: Bras ain’t cheap! And think to special occasions like prom: Guys usually rent a tux or suit and that’s it, while we’ve got gowns, shoes, special undies, and accessories to worry about. It adds up!

Just because she spends more on you doesn’t mean she lives your little bro any less! | Source: Shutterstock

Then there’s the fact that a lot of girls’ clothing is simply more expensive than guys’ stuff is–just like our toiletries are pricier just because they come in pink packaging and smell more flowery than musky. Is it fair? No. But unless you want to shop in a guys’ section, it’s sort of something we have to deal with (which we can combat slightly by couponing and sale rack-ing). We also have a lot more to choose from, which the study also points out. Think about the mall you go to all the time: Chances are there a ton more women’s and girls’ clothing stores than guys’ ones, right? When you have that many options, you’ll likely to buy more stuff.

This is driven home a bit further by the fact that the study primarily looked at moms’ spending, not dads, and let’s be real: Your mom is a lot more likely to bring you home a cute blouse than she is to randomly pick up the Call of Duty because she thought it looked cool and thinks your brother would be into it. Add that to the fact that your parents are a lot more likely to get you clothing as a gift, whereas your brothers might rather have the new Diablo game, and really, it’s not a matter of liking you more (even though we totes do)–it’s just a matter of economics.

Do you think your parents favor you over your brother(s)? Do you think it’s fair that parents spend more on daughters than on sons? Tell us in the comments!